Vacuum cleaner coupling



Feb. 7, 1939. F. ELL

VACUUM CLEANER COUPLING 7 Filed Feb. 8, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l X 22/ INVENTOR,

dz ATTORNEY.

Feb. 7, 1939. L, F, ELL 2,146,252

' VACUUM CLEANER COUPLING Filed Feb. 8, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1.7 A ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 7, 1939 VACUUM CLEANER COUPLING Lars Faith' Ell, Stockholm, Sweden, assignor to Electrolux Corporation, Dover, Del.,'a corporation of Delaware ApplicationFebruary 8, 1936, Serial No. 62,888 In Germany Februai-y 13, 1935 6 Claims. ('01. 285-169) My invention relates to vacuum cleaners and more particularly to a rotatable hose connection for use with a vacuum cleaner unit.

My invention is particularly applicable to that type of vacuum cleaner which includes a cleaner unit adapted to be pulled over a surface by means of a flexible hose or the like connected to either the suction or the blowing opening of the cleaner unit. A cleaning implement, such as a suction 1o nozzle, may be connected tothe other end of thehose, preferably by means of a rigid wand serving as a handle for manipulating the cleaning implement.

It is highly desirable that the connection be 15 tween the hose and the unit be of such a nature as to permit relative rotation between the two,

in order that the hose will .not become twisted or kinked during use. Furthermore, a certain 30 Among the objects of my invention are to provide a coupling of this nature which is substantially air-tight, permits rotation between the .hose and the unit, and is readily releasable while being able to transmit the force necessary to pull the 35 unitwithout danger of becoming separated or of binding.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description vconsidered in connection with the accompanying 4o drawings which form a part of the specification and of which:

Fig. 1 is a side-view, partially in cross-section, of one embodiment of my invention as applied to a vacuum cleaner of the above mentioned type;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale of the coupling shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to a portion of Fig. 2, but showing certain parts in different positions;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an element shown in Figs. 2 through 5;

Fig. '7 is a cross-sectional view of a coupling similar to that shown in Figs. 1 through 6, but serving to connect two sections of hose together;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of my invention; and

Fig. 9 is aside-view of one part of the, coupling shown in Fig. 8.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, reference character Ill designates a vacuum cleaner casing which is movably supported on a surface by 10 means of runners l2. Casing l0 includes a cover member l4 suitably secured thereto and provided with a central threaded opening I6. The otherend of the casing is closed by means of a cupshaped member I 8 formed with a central threaded opening 20. Within casing I0 is suitably supported a-dust separating member 22 in the form of a dust bag and a motor 24 driving a centrifugal fan 26.

A flexible hose 28 is connected at one end to a go hollow rigid wand 30 which is connected in turn to a suction nozzle 32, or the like. The other end of hose 28 is connected to the cleaner unit by means of a rotatable coupling. This coupling includes a hollow. element or sleeve 34 permanently aflfix'ed to the end of the flexible portion of hose 28, as by being glued thereto. Sleeve 34 includes a portion of reduced diameter 36 within which is mounted an arcuate resilient member 38, shown more particularly in Fig. 6. Member 30 38 is secured at its central point to tubular portion 36 by means of a rivet 40, the ends of member 38 being free. The member 38 is formed with cutaway portions 42 into which extend tongues 44 in order to increase the resiliency of the memher. Secured to tongues 44 are projections 46, each projection being formed with a straight face 48 disposed in a radial plane and an inclined or beveled face 50. Projections 46 are arranged to be projected through openings 52 formed in tubular portion 36 in alignment therewith. Member 38 is so formed that its resiliency tends to move projections 46 radially outwardly as far as possible to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

Reciprocally mounted on tubular portion 36 is a generally cylindrical sleeve 54. This sleeve is formed with openings 56 which, under certain conditions, are in alignment with openings 52 and tubular portion 36, and under these conditions, projections 46 extend radially outwardly beyond the outer cylindrical surface of sleeve 54.

Sleeve 54 is formed with a hand-grasped portion58 of greater diameter than the remainder of the sleeve and connected to the remainder by means of a shoulder 60. A coil spring 62 is retained within the space between hand-grasped portion 58 and tubular member 36 and tends to move sleeve 54 to the right with respect to tubular member 36 as viewed in Fig. 2. Sleeve 54 is formed with an elongated slot 64 which received the head of rivet 46, thus preventing relative rotation between sleeve 54 and tubular member 36,

while permitting a limited axial movement between these two members.

The members thus far described as attached to the end of flexible hose 28 comprise one part of the rotatable coupling. The other part consists of a second hollow element or reducer member 66 adapted to have threaded engagement with either of the threaded openings I6 or 26, depending upon whether the cleaner unit is being used for suction or blowing, respectively. Member 66 is formed with a central cylindrical bore 68 having substantially the same inner diameter as is the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion of sleeve 54. Bore 68 is formed with an annular groove or recess 16 which is adapted to receive projections 46 when the two parts of the coupling are connected together. Groove I6 is uninterrupted in order that projections 46 may rotate therein without obstruction. The length of bore 68 is sufficient so that substantially no leakage occurs between members and sleeve 54. Sleeve 54 and tubular member 36 are in close contact for substantially the same distance and hence, practically no leakage of air may take place therebetween. If desired, a packing 55 may be interposed between tubular portion and sleeve 54 to further prevent leakage therebetween. This packing may be held in place by spring 62 forcing it against shoulder 66.

Assuming the coupling to be connected, as'

shown in Figs. 1 and 2, should the hose tend to become twisted during use, the two parts may rotate relative to each other in order to prevent kinking. This rotation takes place between sleeve 54 and member 66. As above stated, groove 16 is continuous and hence projections 46 may turn therein. When the cleaner unit is pulled over the floor by means of the hose, the straight faces 48 of the projections abut against the radial face of groove 16 and prevent disconnection of the coupling. As will be seen, an axially directed force has no tendency to move projections 46 out of engagement with the radial face of groove 16 and consequently, no amount of force applied to the hose can pull the coupling apart, unless, of course, such force is great enough to result in breaking of some of the elements.

Due to the fact that at least two projections 46 are provided, an axially directed pull on the hose is evenly distributed on either side of the centre of the hose and hence does not cause sleeve 58 to bind within the bore 68. If but a single projection were used, an axial force would cause the part of the coupling attached to the hose to tend to pivot about the point of contact between the single projection and the side of groove 16. Such pivoting would, of course, be resisted by sleeve 54 bearing against the walls of bore 68, but this would result in friction hindering the free turning of one part in the other. The provision of two or more projections assures that the parts will not bind and hence may rotate freely.

When it is desired to disconnect the coupling, the hand-grasped portion 58 of sleeve 66 is grasped and moved to the left against the force of spring 62 to the position shown in Fig. 4. This movement causes the edges of openings 56 in sleeve 54 to contact the beveled faces 56 of projections 46, thus retracting the projections radially inwardly against the resistance of resilient member 38. When the projections have been retracted until their outer ends are flush with the outer surface of sleeve 54, they no longer can engagethe radial face of groove 16 and consequently, the hose may be removed from member 66.

In order to again connect the coupling, it is only necessary to place the end of sleeve 56 within bore 68 and move it to the position shown in Fig. 2. During this movement, the beveled faces 56 of the projections will strike the outer end of member 66 adjacent to the bore 68 and will be forced inwardly until they are flush with the outer surface of sleeve 54. The projections will remain in this position until they become aligned with groove 16, whereupon the resiliency of member 38 will project them outwardly and into the groove. Inward movement of sleeve 54 is limited by shoulder 66 thereon striking the outer end of member 66.

With the hose attached, as is shown in Fig. 1, rotation of the fan 26 by means of the motor 24 causes a current of air to be drawn in through nozzle 32, wand 36, hose 28, and the coupling into the interior of dust bag 22. Here, any dust picked up by the nozzle is deposited, while the air passes through the material of the dust bag and is discharged from the cleaner unit through outlet 26. In cleaning a rug, for instance, the operator starts at one end of the rug and moves the nozzle by means of rigid wand 36 back and forth over a comparatively narrow section working from one side of the rug to the other. When one section is completed, he starts on the next and thus works back and forth across the rug and advances from one end toward the other. The cleaner unit is usually placed behind the operator and as he advances over the rug, the unit is pulled along at the end of the hose.

The coupling shown in Fig. 7 is in all respects similar to that above described except that it is between two sections of hose 28a and 28b. The structure connected to hose 28a is the same as that above described, while hose 28b is provided with a second element or tubular member 12 formed with an annular groove 14. Member 12 and groove 14 correspond to member 66 and groove 16 above described. The operation of this coupling is the same as that described in connection with Figs. 1 through 6 and hence need not be repeated.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 9, one end of hose 28 is secured to a hollow element or tubular member 86, in any suitable manner. As shown, a sleeve 82 is placed within the end of hose 28 and a-bead84 rolled therein. This bead serves to clamp the material of the hose between the sleeve 82 and the member 86 thereby making it unnecessary to employ glue, although glue may also be employed if desirable. That portion of member 86 which extends beyond the end of the hose is made of reduced diameter, as indicated at 86, and is joined to the part of larger diameter by means of a shoulder 88. The outer surface of portion 86 comprises cylindrical parts 86 and 82 of different diameter joined by an inclined or beveled part 84. These surfaces may be formed directly on portion 86, or a ring 96 may be secured to portion 86 for providing the surfaces 82 and 84, as shown.

Slidably mounted on tubular member 86 is a sleeve 98 having hand-grasp portion I66 formed at or near one end thereof. A plurality of pref- 7 erably circular holes I 02 are formed in sleeve 98 adjacent its other end and are preferably spaced equi-distant around the circumference of the sleeve. A ball I04 is positioned so as to be, projectable through each of the holes I02. The

diameter of the balls is greater than the diameter of the holes so that the former cannot pass completely through the latter. A spring I06 is retained in the space between tubular member 80 and sleeve 98, one end of the spring abutting against shoulder 88 and the other end against the balls I 04. The last turn of the spring adjacent the balls lies in a plane perpendicular to the axis of tubular member 80 so that all of the balls will be contacted with equal force. The radial width of the annular space between surface 90 der H2. The inner end of liner I 08 is flanged inwardlyin order to provide an abutment II4 to limiting inward movement of sleeve 80. Obviously, the central bore of member 86 could be formed directly with the same contour as is provided by liner, I 08.

Assuming the coupling to be joined, as shown in Fig. 9, the hose may be released from member 86 by grasping the outer end of tubular member 80 with one hand and the hand-grasp portion I of sleeve 98 with the other hand and moving the two hands toward each other. Such movement results first in a slight displacement of tubular member 80 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 8. This movement takes place against the force of spring I06 and-results in the beveled surface 94 being moved away from the balls I04. When connected, it is the wedging action of surface 94 which projects all of the balls outwardly as far as they may pass through openings I02 and into engagement with circular groove IIO. Under these conditions, pulling on the hose 28 merely serves to wedge the balls more tightly into engagement with groove III) and hence, cannot result in releasing the coupling.

However, when surface 94 is moved away from the balls I04, as above described, and sleeve 08 moved to the left as viewed in Fig. 8, the balls I04 move inwardly and out of engagement with groove I I0. The hose and parts attached thereto may then be withdrawn from within liner I 08.

In order to connect the coupling again, it is only necessary to insert the end of sleeve 98 within the liner I08 and push it to the right, as viewed .in Fig. 8, as far as it will go. During this movement the balls I04, which are normally projected as far as they will go, strike the flared outer end IIG of sleeve I08 and are momentarily stopped, also stopping movement of sleeve 98 However, member 80 may continue to move to the right by compressing spring I06 slightly whereby inclined surface 94 moves away from the balls and permits them to be forced inwardly a sufficient distance so that they may pass through the cylindrical bore of liner I08 until they reach the groove IIO. When this occurs, the inner end of tubular member 80 strikes the abutment H4 and the operator releases his grasp on the tubular member. Spring I06 then causes the tubular member to move to the left slightly to the position shown in Fig. 8 in which the inclined surface 94 balls forces the balls outwardly and into engagement with the groove II 0.

Inasmuch as there are several balls disposed around the circumference of sleeve 98, an axial force is evenly distributed as explained in connection with the first embodiment. Moreover, I04 are freely rotatable and hence serve as a ball bearing between the relatively rotatable parts of the coupling.

While I have shown and described two more or less specific embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that this has been done for purposes of illustration only and that my invention is not to be limited thereto, but its scope is to be determined by the appended claims viewed in the light of the prior art.

What I claim is:

1. A detachable coupling for connecting two hollow telescoping fluid conveying elements together including a plurality of inwardly retractable members projecting through apertures spaced around the inner of said elements and disposed away from the center of the inner element, the other of said elements being formed with an annular surface disposed so as to be engaged by said members, and a ring member displaceable in axial direction to retract all of said members simultaneously from engagement with said surface.

2. A detachable coupling for connecting two hollow cylindrical telescoping fluid conveying elements together including a plurality of radially movable members extending through apertures spaced around the inner of said elements and disposed away from the center of the inner element, the other of said elements being formed with an annular surface disposed so as to be engaged by said members, said surface being uninterrupted whereby relative rotation between said elements may take place, resilient means for moving said members radially outwardly, and manually operable .means common to all said members for moving said members radially inwardly.

3. A detachable coupling for connecting two hollow telescoping fluid conveying elements together including a plurality of movable members extending through apertures in the inner of said elements, resilient means disposed away from the center of the inner element for projecting said members toward the other of said elements, said other element having a surface positioned so as to be engaged by said members, and a releasing member movable at substantially right angles to the directions of movement of said members for simultaneously retracting all of said members from engagement with said surface.

4. In a device'of the class described, afirst element having a cylindrical bore, a second element having a hollow cylindrical portion adapted to be telescopically received in said bore, a plurality of catch members movably carried by said cylindrical portion, resilient means for yieldably projecting said members outwardly through apertures spaced around said cylindrical portion, said cylindrical bore being formed with an annular groove for receiving said members, the rear faces of said members being straight for engagement with said groove and the forward faces being beveled to facilitate inward displacement of said members upon insertion of said cylindrical portion into said bore, and a sleeve slidably mounted on said cylindrical portion and movable to contact the beveled faces of said members for retracting said members to a position radially within the circumference of said bore to thereby release the straight faces of saidelements from engagement with said groove.

5. In a device of' the class described, a first element having a cylindrical bore, a second element having a cylindrical portion adapted to be rotatably received in said bore, said second element including inner and outer axially slidable sleeves forming an annular space therebetween, said inner sleeve being formed with an outer inclined surface, a plurality of balls disposed within said annular space and projectable through openings formed in said outer sleeve, and resilient means within said annular space for urging said inclined surface into contact with said balls whereby the latter are projected through said openings, said first element being formed with an annular surface having radial extent arranged to be engaged by said balls in projected position to thereby limit relative axial movement between said elements, said openings limiting radial movement of said balls to an extent such as to prevent said balls from gripping the surface of said first element in radial direction.

6. In a device of the class described, a first element having a cylindrical bore, a second element having a cylindrical portion adapted to be rotatably received in said bore, said second element including inner and outer sleeves forming an annular space therebetween, said inner sleeve being imperforate and said outer sleeve being formed with a plurality of circumferentially disposed openings, a plurality of balls disposed in said space, and resilient means for projecting said balls part way through said openings, said first element being formed with an annular surface having radial extent arranged to be engaged by said balls in projected position to thereby limit relative axial movement between said elements, said openings limiting radial movement of said balls to an extent such as to prevent said balls from gripping the surface of said first element in radial direction.

LARS FAITH ELL. 

